My German Shepherd cross Caleb vomited up blood last Monday night and a follow-up blood test two days later revealed that he had a high red blood cell count which could mean that he has a form of chronic leukemia. Fortunately, the blood test we did on Saturday showed a slight drop in his red blood cell count, but it is still not back to normal levels. Therefore we have to do yet another test – blood test #4 on Wednesday night.

Normally any health problems with my dogs sets off my anxiety but I’m doing okay this time, probably because Caleb is not showing a single clinical symptom of any of the nasty things the vets think could be going on. He has a really good appetite and for a dog that is an incredibly fussy eater this is a very good sign – if he was in the slightest bit sick, he wouldn’t finish his meals. He is also full of energy having no problems going on our 5km morning walks and barking at the cats that torment him from over the fence. He is also playing with our other dog Rory, which for Caleb is another good sign as Caleb doesn’t get playing (he was an unsocialised rescue dog when we adopted him) so he only humors Rory and plays with her when he is feeling well. He must of been feeling really well last night because he also played with Rory’s toy hedgehog and he gets playing with toys even less than he gets playing with other dogs.

The only downside of all these vet visits (besides the cost) is that Caleb, who usually loves going to the vet, now hates going there. I think we are going to have to have a few visits where nothing at all happens to him. Hopefully if tomorrow’s blood test goes well, he will get one of those next Monday when Rory goes for her final arthritis medication shot (Caleb got his last week) and all that happens to Caleb is that he gets a treat for being such a good big little brother. Regardless of who actually needs to see the vet, both dogs go to the appointment. They are much more relaxed if they are together.

I will be glad when this whole saga is over. As much as I like the vet clinic we go to, I’m getting really sick of going there every 2-3 days and my bank balance would really prefer if we didn’t go there so often.

Caleb has been healthy throughout this whole ordeal, it is just his blood work that is strange. He is back at the vet again today getting an ultrasound to check for tumors. Part of me is hoping that they find something so we finally have an answer for his weird blood work. Whilst part of me wants them to find nothing cause having to deal with a tumor is scary stuff.
I will write a blog post when I get the results.

Thanks so much for asking. Caleb is at the vet today getting an ultrasound & chest x-ray to check for tumors. I will write post when I get the results back about what they find & where we need to go from here.
Fortunately, he is still in really good health & according to him, there is nothing wrong with him at all. Therefore, if we do find something nasty, the prognosis is better than if he was already ill.